Foxconn opens two factories in Vietnam

Taiwan contract manufacturer Foxconn opened two factories in Vietnam this week, the first phase of a massive investment that executives said would total billions of dollars over the next few years.

According to state media reports, Foxconn has pumped around $160 million into the two plants in Que Vo Industrial Zone in the northern province of Bac Ninh. The factories sit on a 1.1-hectare plot and will mainly produce camera modules, main boards and connectors.

Foxconn has already recruited about 500 local university graduates for its Vietnam facilities and could hire up to 300,000 if it follows through with plans to invest up to $5 billion in the country over the next three to five years, president Terry Guo said.

Guo also said Foxconn seeks to become Vietnam's largest foreign investor in terms of export turnover and would contribute to the nation's development by bringing the latest information and telecommunications technology to its local operations.

The manufacturer is also planning facilities in Bac Gaing province, which, like Bac Ninh, is a northern outpost close to the capital Hanoi. Also planned is a $1 billion industrial park on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, according to the local government.

Intel's announcement last year that it would build a $1 billion fab near Ho Chi Minh City put the country on the electronics industry map. A host of investment pledges have since followed from manufacturers like Toshiba, Matsushita and Renesas.

- Jonathan Hopfner
EE Times